My Thoughts Eagles/Saints

I think this Philadelphia Eagles season has hit a low point. But, we don’t know right now if it is the low point. What seems bad right now could end up looking looking great at some point as this team continues to sink into oblivion. Remember the Detroit game? Haha! That’s nothing! Okay, let’s look at the game:

What I liked…

-This section will be awfully brief, I can tell you that.

-Brandon Graham made the kind of play that they drafted him for. A sack, forced fumble and a recovery…all on one play! Get! Out!

-The Eagles ran the hell out of the ball. Despite a terrible offensive line, they ripped off several huge runs. Good thing they stuck with it.

-Huge game for DeSean Jackson. Where have those big plays been all year? Oh, right…the Saints.

…and not so much…

-This team is flat-out bad. Not struggling, not lost, not getting unlucky. This team is bad.

-It starts with the offensive line. A blind person who watched this game last night would know how bad this o-line was just because they could hear Jon Gruden talk about it every play. Terrible.

-Todd Herremans was bad even before he got hurt. Not that they can afford to lose him.

-Here’s my bigger problem with the offensive line: Yes, they are awful. They are backups who are playing out of position (Dennis Kelly is a tackle project playing guard. Demetress Bell is a lousy left tackle playing right tackle. Recipe for success!). But, how can no one on the Eagles sideline notice this? They must not have noticed it because in third-and-long situations, after getting chewed alive all game by the blitz, and with eight defenders poised over the line, they go with an empty backfield and no tight ends staying in. I’m serious. They did this. All night. Five guys who are unqualified to be starting NFL linemen, left on their own to face at least 6+ rushers. You have got to be kidding me. I’ve defended Andy Reid for years, but this is “don’t give Winston Justice help with Osi” levels of bad.

-Dennis Kelly is not capable of playing offensive line in the National Football League. It’s not his fault, but it’s true.

-I am the first person to blame Michael Vick for his nonsense. That pick 6 was on him. Sorry. Yes, it bounced off Brent Celek’s hand, but he was well covered and the ball missed the mark. Yes, Vick fumbled again. But this game was not on him. This was a new level of poor offensive line play. Historically bad. Miami Dolphins from four plus years ago bad. Even short drops aren’t good enough to give Vick a fighting chance.

-Wow, we haven’t even talked about the defense yet.

-This defense as a whole might be equivalent to the offensive line. It’s that bad. Is that all on Todd Bowles? Of course not. But, what’s he done so far? Sure, his units have given up way more points that when Juan Castillo was calling the plays, but these last two games were also against the two best offenses they’ll play all year. I don’t think it’s enough time to be running the show for it to fall all on him. It wasn’t him that was missing all of those tackles out there. Dreadful.

-I don’t like idiots who say stupid things like “this defense quit.” I heard that from people like Phil Sheridan of the Philadelphia Inquirer last night on Twitter. Are you serious? Are you even thinking about what you are saying? This is the NFL. This is their job. They have tape. You think these guys want to be lousy? Do you think they are just going to give up in front of a national audience? In front of any audience? These guys are worried about their jobs today. Quit my ass.

-Nnamdi…what are you trying to tackle? What are you doing?

-Mat McBriar has been decent at times this year, but I’m not a fan. One punt gets blasted out the back of the end zone. The next is fair caught at the 25. I’d like to see better punting.

-This defense as a whole is horrific at tackling. The Saints don’t run the ball. Ever. And they not only ran all over them, they were finishing runs for six and seven yards following initial contact. That’s poor to quite poor.

-Remember weeks and weeks ago when Mychal Kendricks was looking like he’d be a great addition to this defense? When was the last time he made a play or didn’t get burned in coverage or didn’t commit a pass interference penalty? I’ve far from soured on him, but I also haven’t seen much good from him lately.

-It’s not just that the Eagles have too many players that aren’t good enough. This is true, but it also seems like they don’t know where they should be or what they should be doing, especially on defense.

-I’m done with Jason Babin. He was better on Monday night, but he’s still so unproductive as a whole for what he’s paid. He won’t be back next year, I think that’s safe to say.

-Bobby April finally makes the right call and…sheesh. This is what a bad team looks like. These are the things that happen.

We’re only halfway through the season. Anyone else feel like it’s Week 14? We have eight more games to watch. At this point, it’s let everyone play and let’s see what we’ve got. Dallas Cowboys are next week in what could be The Ineptitude Bowl.